Cruises - never been on one before and I am interested! Advice / experiences welcome!

[Afterfire]

There would be 4 of us. Me, dh, dd aged 19 and Ds aged 11.

I think initially we’d like to try a short one from Southampton. Been looking at Royal Caribbean ones, msc, and P and O… it’s quite overwhelming all the different options and “brands” - is one better than another?

How does it work if you do a longer one and fly to a different country - are transfers included?

Not a clue what I’m doing…!

Why don't you start with a wish list of destinations and narrow it down from there?

Glad you think climate change is boring . Maybe your dc won’t feel the same when they grow up .

I wouldn't be looking to cruise until after Covid has passed. I know of a number if people that have tested positive on their return home.

Its never going to pass though. Its the same with colds, norovirus and now covid.

We came off a cruise 2.5 weeks ago. None of us got covid but 2 of us have had horrendous colds (and have tested more than 10 times each but negative covid tests).

Covid doesn’t bother me. I agree with the poster above that it’s never going to be “over”. I’ve had it 3 times now. I’m actually in the clinically extremely vulnerable group and been vaccinated 4 times (!) I have a lot of health issues and I’m determined not to put my life on hold any more than I have to or need to.

This is more likely the flight home than the cruise. Lots of people I know have picked up covid on way home from holidays.
I must admit it puts me off cruising atm. The prospect of being confined to a cabin for a week is awful, not to mention possibly being very unwell. In some cases I've heard of people being offloaded at ports.

I'm not a Covid scaremongerer and agree we must continue to not put our lives on hold. Getting Covid doesn't bother me either - having to quarantine on a ship/abroad does.

If it were me I'd just leave it a while because if I was sinking quite a bit of cash into an amazing trip I'd rather wait to see how this all pans out - who knows what next year would bring?

Plus, some cruises make you show proof of a negative LFT test (must be observed) 24 hours prior to boarding - we has to do that for the US and not only is it a massive pita, you don't actually feel like your going until you get that negative result.

Happened to my DF a few years ago. Obviously not Covid related (and I don't know the protocol) but he spend the best part of an Alaskan cruise in his cabin and not allowed to leave.

I've been on many cruises 20+, and it's my favourite holiday.
Each cruise line has a different vibe. Formal, fun, cultural etc. You can just stay on board or do excursions, either the cruises ones or your own.
If you re teetotal the "free" drinks or packages aren't of value. Be aware the drinking age and be as high as 25.
WiFi can be very expensive. Watch for daily tips, up to 20 dollars each per day!! You can just ask for them to be removed. That's the end of it.
I ❤ cruising and have been all over the world. Next one is round New Zealand for Christmas. Its worth a lot of research before booking. Join Cruise Critic for good reviews.
Sign up to the lines loyalty program. I get wine, chocolate strawberries, bags of laundry and priority boarding and tendering.

For what it's worth NCL is my favourite.

I'll happy answer any questions.

You always remove tips on your cruise? Sorry but that is tight as. The staff work so hard, provide amazing service and you just remove their tips? And don't say you tip individually as many people behind the scenes make your cruise experience. Your cabin attendant couldn't do his job without the people who wash the bedding and towels etc..... your waiters couldn't serve you food without chefs etc......

It really annoys me when people cheap out like this on a cruise. Just add the tips to the price of the holiday. So for eg cruise is 2k and tips are 200. So the cruise costs you 2.2k.

Just a question - a pp said tips were included in the package - so are you told how much money to tip on cruises?

Sorry Snowjokes, but the crew earn reasonable wages and if you work out how much 4000 people pay in so called tips, it's huge. Don't know where you get 200 pounds from at 20 a night, each, it's a lot for a 14 night cruise.
Also tips are not for doing your job , they are for over and above personal service.
I do tip people look after me well. I've seen people people give tips at the start of a cruise.....its called a bribe!

Just need to add if you book through cruise.co.uk or Imagine cruises, they book the whole thing, flights if needed, hotel the night before, transfers etc.

Yes cruise lines will have the price of the tips on the webpage etc..... some cruise lines (p&o being one) include the tips in the price of the cruise. Others leave them separate.

The average wage for a room attendant before tips is $650 a month for gods sake, that's not reasonable wages. Tips take that up to about $1150 a month on average. Just add the tips on to the price of the holiday and stop being such a tight arse.

If tips aren’t included how do they get paid? Are they added on to a sort of electronic tab? (Trying to learn, happy to pay them)! I’m guessing you pay this at the end?!

Yes they are added daily to your cabin account. Then paid via credit card (that you put on file) at the end of the cruise. You can pay cash into guest services if you want but you will need the currency of the ship most are in US $ but some are £.

Ok, thank you 👍

Ive been on two with my teens and going on a short one next week. All no fly out of Southampton.
First was 7 nights Norwegian Fjords with Celebrity Cruises. The ship was great, food AMAZING and the trip wonderful except we went in August which is well into their autumn and weather a bit too foggy.
Next we went on an Amsterdam and Honfluer with P&O. Poor. Food not good at all. Ship was dirty. If this was my first cruise experience it would have been my last. The ports were lovely and staff were nice but it was nowhere near as good as Celebrity.
So now back with Celebrity for four nights to Bruge and Amsterdam. Slightly more complicated post covid as you need a certificate of a negative test (done by somewhere like Boots) plus be vaccinated.
My tips would be to book shore excursions for every day in port - the ships are big but pretty dull - I wouldn't spend my holiday inside my hotel! We didn't bother with the onboard shows either - too complicated to work around dinner so we'd eat then watch a movie in our room as we generally had an early start each morning too.
Book your last night in a special restaurant. I didn't bother with drinks package unless you are going to put away £50 of drink a day!
I don't like flying and wanted a short break. I've booked parking at the port and hope after the kerfuffle of boarding we can loosen our belts and enjoy ourselves!
First trip since 2019 so really excited, the kids know what to expect and it will be quality family time.

Done Royal Caribbean and NCL both great for kids/teens and adults, highly recommend!

@mondaytosunday we are on that trip too! It's our first time with Celebrity so looking forward to trying it.

Agree with PP that going from Southampton is really hassle free compared to flying. Book parking and the porters come and meet you to help with cases.
Been with Royal Caribbean with young adult kids (17,18,22,24) and it worked well. We did the fjords. They all loved Norway and waking up gliding into a fjord. But they all said cruising is not their cup of tea for one reason or another although they were grateful to have tried it.
I would really recommend a balcony room if you can as it feels less claustrophobic.

The tip thing is annoying. The companies should just include it in the overall price and pay their staff better!! Guilting people into us paying their staff is so off. We did give an additional tip to our cabin guy as well as the prepaid tips.

The drinks packages cover other drinks not just alcohol.

Have been on a couple of celebrity cruises pre-covid and absolutely loved them. We don’t drink but had drinks and tips included in our cruise so enjoyed being able to order soft drinks and mock tails without thinking of the cost. This year, we went with Princess as Celebrity prices had increased too much for our budget. Although Celebrity was better, we all agreed that Princess came a close second and was much, much better value for money.

We have never been on a cruise excursion. Usually, we just get off the ship and wander on our own or, where we wanted to do a tour, we have booked that privately. The roll calls for each cruise on cruise critic website are great for get really good information about the ship, ports, activities etc and also for joining groups of people wanting to do the same tour as you do.

We have only sailed from Southampton and always underestimate the amount of time it takes to get there. So my tip would be to ensure you allows lots of extra time if any part of your journey involves the M25. Next year we are flying out to the States to go on a cruise because we really want to go on that particular itinerary. It was booked in early 2021 when we thought covid would be long gone by 2023 but I admit that I am now concerned about covid particularly during the long flights..

We just booked a cruise with Seabourn for next year. Everything included (apart from children 😂) Super expensive but DH is paying out of his pension lump sum as a present to me. As I have to keep working for another 10 years. 😑 I'm buying the excursions.

We did a Baltic one before lockdown and I booked a 2 day St Petersburg excursion separately. Probably won't get to do that again for a while. I also joined the Cruise Critic forum for that cruise and got to do a meet & greet with the captain as part of it, with bubbles and hor d'ouvres. Very naice

As for buying your own yacht. The initial cost is just that, as there are mooring fees, running costs etc. You have to learn to navigate and sail the thing. I paid around £600 for a weeks competent crew course 30 years ago, for learning to sail.